 |
 |
|||||
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
|
|
Download Free technews From viewzoft NEW YORK - Computer chips, it seems, work better if theyre more like Swiss cheese than American cheese. ADVERTISEMENT Chips with minuscule holes in them can run faster or use less energy, IBM Corp. said in announcing Thursday a novel way to create them — potentially one of the most significant advances in chip manufacturing in years. To create these tiny holes, the computer company has harnessed a plastic-like material that spontaneously forms into a sieve-like structure. The holes have a width of 20 nanometers, or billionths of a meter, placing the method in the much-vaunted field of nanotechnology. "To our knowledge, this is the first time anyone has used nanoscale self-assembled materials to build things that machines arent capable of doing," said John Kelly, IBMs vice president of development. Kelly said molecules in the material fall into a defined pattern similar to how snowflakes form into symmetrical six-sided shapes. IBM said the technology could be added to existing manufacturing lines and applied to current chips, boosting performance by 35 percent or cutting power consumption by the same percentage. It expects to start using the technique in 2009, first on chips used in IBMs servers and later to chips it makes for other companies, including possibly the Cell processor used in Sony Corp (NYSE:SNE - news).s PlayStation 3. "Its a tremendous breakthrough," said Richard Doherty, research director at Envisioneering Group, an analysis firm. "Its likely to save energy and increase chip speeds more than any other single advance in the last few years." The holes alleviate a problem that has loomed for the semiconductor industry: As chips have shrunk in size, boosting their speed and efficiency, theyve increasingly become susceptible to electricity leaking between their closely spaced wires through the intervening insulator, usually glass. The most advanced chip technology in large-scale commercial use, which uses circuits 65 nanometers apart, loses almost half of its power to leakage, Doherty said. The leakage not only wastes power but also slows down the processor. Ideally, the glass would be replaced with vacuum, a better insulator, but removing the glass away in the right places hasnt been possible with current techniques. If the glass was simply etched away, the resulting "ditches" running along the wires would simply be filled in by the next layer of insulating glass applied, according to IBM Fellow Dan Edelstein, chief scientist on the project. IBMs polymer technique sidesteps that problem. First, the self-assembling material is applied on top of the glass, forming the tiny holes. The chip is then exposed to a gas that seeps through the material as if it were a stencil, etching away the underlying glass to form small holes in the top surface, and larger, continuous gaps between the wires. Another layer of glass is applied in a vacuum chamber. Because the holes in the topmost existing glass layer are small, the newly applied layer of glass doesnt seep into the underlying cavities. Instead, it seals them off, with a vacuum inside. The technique was invented at IBMs Almaden Research Center in San Jose, Calif., and the T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown, N.Y. It was adapted for commercial use by the University at Albany and IBMs Semiconductor Research and Development Center in East Fishkill, N.Y. ( Read More )
Download Free technews From viewzoft Hot on the heels of the recent single-key Optimus Maximus OLED key test comes the highly anticipated multiple-key test, a demo of the numeric keypad. Yes, its a whole bank of the custom-built buttons, flashing in a veritable parade of holiday-season-worthy light. New Technology Newsesfrom www.viewzoft.com Sure, that exposed PCB and those little plastic keys dont look like theyre worth $1536, but were sure once its all said and done youll still feel like its money well spent. Check the video after the break to witness the dancing lights for yourself ( Read More )
Download Free technews From viewzoft It looks like those waiting for the next generation Prius to hit the road are going to have to hold out a little bit longer. Toyota announced this week that it would be delaying plans to bring its plug-in, lithium-ion-based model to market until 2011, as opposed to 2008, due to safety concerns over the companys chosen battery. In very related news, GM has struck a deal with Massachusetts-based battery developer A123 Systems to produce flat lithium-ion batteries for use in upcoming plug-in electric vehicles, such as the Chevy Volt. With regards to whether Toyotas setback could give GM an edge in the electric car game, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said, "I think that our No.www.viewzoft.com 1 competitor has some problems with their technology, and I do think that it very definitely opens a window of opportunity for us to be first to market with a genuine plug-in hybrid," which sounds like fightin words, if you ask us. ( Read More )
next |
|
